SE23 Forum

"London Borough Garden Waste Costs (2026/27)

The following costs apply to a standard 12-month subscription for one 240-litre wheeled bin (or designated bags) for the 2026/27 period where available:
Borough Annual Cost Key Details
Barnet £103.80 Fortnightly collection; £75.51 for additional bins.
Bexley £87 £82 for Direct Debit; fortnightly collections.
City of London Free 6-month trial starting 1 April 2026; bookable service.
Hammersmith & Fulham £90 Weekly collection; includes two reusable sacks.
Haringey £75 Fortnightly; smaller bins available for £55.
Havering £87 Fortnightly collection; 12-month contract.
Hillingdon £77 Weekly (Mar–Nov), fortnightly (Dec–Feb).
Hounslow £75 Fortnightly; 50% discount for Council Tax Support.
Islington £77.85 Fortnightly; 50% discount for various benefits.
Kensington & Chelsea £79.70 Fortnightly; £59.70 for concessions.
Kingston upon Thames £104 Fortnightly; new subscriptions from 1 April 2026.
Lewisham £100.63 Weekly collections until March 2027.
Merton £99 Annual bin hire; £18 delivery fee for new bins.
Southwark £84 Weekly collections; 20-sack pack available for £44.
Westminster Free Bookable service for residents starting 1 April 2026."

Lewisham Council's annual garden waste subscription service is the second MOST expensive in all of Greater London.

Why is this?

How comes other London boroughs are cheaper?

Why is there not one price for all of London?

How comes some London boroughs can offer this subscription service so much cheaper than other boroughs?

It feels as though Lewisham are just greedy and penalise any household that has a garden and uses their service.

I think it represents pretty good value. It works out at about £2.50 a week for the 40 weeks or so of active gardening which is about £1.50 cheaper than a coffee on Dartmouth Road to have someone else deal with it.

It’s also worth noting that Lewisham provides weekly collections. Most of the 'cheaper' boroughs on that list only come fortnightly, so we’re essentially getting double the service for that price.

I suspect the fee barely breaks even, and I don’t think those of us lucky enough to have gardens should be subsidised by those who don’t. For anyone finding the £100 steep, sharing a bin with a neighbour is a great workaround splitting the cost makes it a very reasonable £50 a year.